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V1615-25 15 September 2025 · SG de Impuestos sobre la Renta de las Personas Físicas Criterion in force
IRPF · ganancia patrimonial

Gain or loss on foreign currency property sale calculated by converting difference to euros

A Spanish tax resident asks how to calculate the change in property value of a house bought and sold in dollars. The DGT responds that the difference between the acquisition and transfer values in dollars must be converted to euros at the exchange rate on the date of the transaction.

The question raised

Whether, to calculate the change in assets derived from the sale of the apartment, one must determine, on one hand, the purchase price and expenses in euros, applying for this purpose the dollar/euro exchange rate on the day of the transaction (August of the year 2000) and, on the other hand, determine the sale price and expenses in euros.

The DGT's ruling

When the purchase and sale of real estate are carried out in foreign currency, the capital gain or loss must be calculated in the original currency (dollars) and the resulting difference must be converted into euros using the exchange rate in force on the date of the change in assets. If those dollars are subsequently converted into euros, the exchange difference generated shall constitute another capital gain or loss at the time of the actual exchange.

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